Keep Breathing
by SongbirdSarah
Summary: All it took was a single text message and Kurt was flying across the country to be with the only thing that mattered to him...Blaine. (a short reaction ficlet to the episode 'Shooting Star')


Kurt moved on pure autopilot as soon as he got the text from Tina. _There's been an accident..it's Blaine_. He had jumped up from the booth that he and Adam had been sharing for lunch, said a quick 'I'm sorry' and had hailed the closest cab to the restaurant. He had to get to the airport and he had to get there **now**.

The ride to JFK seemed to stretch on forever, and finally he was at the ticket desk and he practically threw the emergency credit card his dad had given him at Christmas at the kind lady behind the desk.

"I need the first flight you can get me to Columbus or Lima, Ohio." Kurt almost cried.

"Do you have to check any bags?" the lady, Cindy as her badge read, asked. She still had an almost sickeningly sweet smile on her face. Kurt couldn't seem to process how she could be so calm.

"No, it's just me. Please, I need the first and fastest flight I can get on." Kurt said quickly, shifting his weight back and forth anxiously. Why did he have to live and go to school in New York of all places!

"Alright, there is a flight that is leaving in fifteen minutes. If we hurry, we can get you to the gate by the final boarding call." Cindy said, taking the card and typing away quickly at her terminal. "The only seats left are in first class, is that alright? If not, we have a flight leaving this evening at 9?"

"No, I'll take the first flight, that's fine." Kurt said with a sigh of relief, he just wouldn't be shopping at all for the next few months.

"Okay dear, we've got you all checked in for the Southwest Airlines Flight 672a for Lima. Just go to Gate 3H and wait for your boarding call." Cindy said with a smile as she handed him his ticket and credit card back.

"Thank you so much!" And with that he ran through JFK like a mad man, praying that he wasn't headed towards utter heartbreak.

* * *

Kurt had been able to make a quick phone call to his dad before his plane had taken off, asking him to meet him at the airport when his plane landed, with the promise of an explanation as soon as he got there. So, when he saw his dad standing there in his flannel and baseball cap, Kurt immediate felt some relief until he saw the haggard look of his dad's face.

"Dad!" Kurt cried as he ran forward to his father, throwing his arms around his dad's neck in a fierce hug. Nothing could go wrong in his father's embrace.

"Hey kiddo." Burt murmured into his son's hair, holding him just as tight. He had never been happier that Kurt had decided to move halfway across the country.

"What happened? What's wrong, what happened to Blaine?" Kurt asked hurriedly as he pulled away, looking frantically at his father's face, hoping for any sign of good news.

"It's bad bud, I'll explain what happened on the way to the hospital."

* * *

It had been a sophomore that no one really knew about or paid attention too. He had been pushed to far and went to the extreme. There had been five other victims besides Blaine before the police were able to apprehend the boy.

Blaine had evidently been helping a group of freshmen girls get to safety when the boy turned the corner and fired. He had lunged to push one of the smaller girls into a room and the bullet had caught him in his lower chest, right above his diaphragm. It had been a close call, they hadn't known if he was going to make it on the way to the hospital.

Kurt ran through the halls, his dad had told him the room number on the way there. All he could think about was _shot, chest, lost a lot of blood, touch and go through surgery, in the ICU, BlaineBlaineBlaine_.

He skidded to a halt in the middle of the hallway when he saw Mrs. Anderson talking to a woman in a white coat. His breath caught in his chest and he approached slowly, not being able to make out what they were saying.

"It's still too soon to tell, but I'll check back again later to see how he's doing." The doctor said before turning and walking away. It was then that Kurt approached.

"Mrs. Anderson?" he said timidly, not wanting to spook her. She spun around and let out a little gasp before throwing her arms around him in a tight hug.

"Kurt! Oh thank god, I didn't know how to get a hold of you and I…I…" she started crying and her sentence dropped off. Kurt tightened his arms around her and just held on. That was all he could do at this point.

"How's he doing?" Kurt asked once Mrs. Anderson had released him.

"Better than before, but still critical. He lost a lot of blood and there was a lot of internal damage…they had him in surgery for a long time and they only just now brought him out of recovery. They said I could go in and see him." She sounded more and more weary as she continued. "I need to make a quick phone call, if you want to go see him for a little bit?"

"I…yea…yea I think I will." Kurt mumbled, already headed towards the closed door, towards Blaine.

* * *

The room was dark, and there was a constant beep from all the machines hooked up to the frail looking boy in the bed. Kurt felt his eyes start to sting with tears as he took in the sight of the usually brave, bright, and bubbly boy he loved. He barely felt himself move across the room and sit down beside the bed, taking Blaine's hand in his gently.

"Hey B…It's me, it's Kurt...I'm…I'm here baby." Kurt whispered, choking up with tears as he rubbed his thumb over the top of Blaine's hand, careful of the IV line. "You scared me so much B, I couldn't breath, I couldn't bare thinking that I would never see you smile at me again…I couldn't stand think that I might never tell you that I loved you again. I was so, so scared. I love you so much."

At this point, he was crying so much, he just hunched over and let the tears fall. He focused on the warmth of Blaine's hand in his and just wept quietly. It could have been minutes or hours, but Kurt didn't notice.

He didn't notice when Mrs. Anderson came back into the room. He didn't notice when the doctor came back to check on Blaine. All he could focus on was the warm hand in his and the boy that was connected to it.


End file.
